This invention relates generally to isolation of structures and their contents from ground motion, and more particularly concerns apparatus for resisting displacement of structures and contents in response to earthquake movement, for minimizing transfer of earthquake related and generated motion to such structures, their contents and for restoring the structures to their original positions on and relative to floors or other supports.
During earthquakes, contents of a building tend to overturn, move around and get damaged by either crashing onto the floor or into other objects or walls. In addition, equipment with inner moving parts or modules could become inoperable from heavy shaking. This invention relates generally to a support system that modifies the adverse dynamic behavior of the objects and more particularly concerns an apparatus that absorbs earthquake related motion while guiding the object to return to its original location.
There is need for the apparatus as referred to where it is imperative that certain objects and/or equipment be protected from shaking, overturning and crashing into walls and other objects, as for example cabinets and shelvings containing valuable objects, computers, electrical panels and mechanical equipment. Firmly anchoring of objects and equipment into the ground or a building floor will directly transfer the dynamic energy generated by an earthquake into the object or the equipment destroying and shaking into pieces items incapable of absorbing or resisting dynamic forces.
Prior devices to absorb and resist induced dynamic energy were constructed for high frequency and very small displacements generated by machinery an other sources of dynamic excitations.